Perfect
by Rach101
Summary: Life is good. A large helping of SJ shippygoodness! First EVER fan fiction, so please be nice! Reviews would be highly appriciated! [complete]I own nothing!
1. Chapter 1

_AN: this first cahpter is a little slow, but it gets better, i promise!_

Chapter One

"Look what we did." The woman was looking down at the baby in her arms, the largest smile you can imagine written across her face. She did, however, look exhausted and sweaty (well you would after 17 hours of labor) but still astonishingly beautiful. Her short blonde hair at all angles and the deepest blue eyes that gleamed with joy as she looked at her daughter. She lifted her hand to wipe a tear from her face, smiling the whole time.

"Oh God, Jack. She's perfect!"

Sam looked from her baby up to her husband standing next to the bed, who had a matching, and if possible, even larger grin on his face.

"Yes she is." He kissed his wife atop the head and leaned in to run a finger over the rosy cheek of the child lying in his wife's arms. His index finger nearly dwarfed her entire head but still she was one of the most beautiful babies to ever grace the planet Earth … well certainly the SGC Infirmary.

"She definitely takes after her mother."

His wife looked from their baby back up to her husband who met her gaze; he brought up his hand from the face of his daughter to his wife using his thumb to wipe away the tears running down her face. Cupping her face in his hand he leaned in and kissed her deeply. The pair separated but only enough so that they could rest their foreheads together, the two still smiling profusely. Sam could have sworn that her husband's eyes were a little wet.

"Well done Colonel, you did good," Jack O'Neill said to his wife, lifting his head away and tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. He moved his hand from her face to around her shoulder and sat down on the edge of the bed. The two looked down at their daughter, who had now stopped crying and was leaning into her mother's body. Samantha O'Neill leaned back into the warm embrace of her husband, the man whom she had loved for nine years and was finally hers. And now, as if to complete the circle, they had a daughter.

God!

She had given birth to Jack O'Neill's daughter. She was the mother of his child! She thought she was happy the day she married him, the day she went from Samantha Carter to Dr. Lt. Colonel Samantha O'Neill, wife of the most gorgeous one star in the entire US Air Force. But this … this was a new level of happiness. She could feel it flowing though the very essence of her being (excuse the cliché), she … she was … God. There were no words to describe just how very happy she was. This, this moment right here was … it was everything she had ever dreamed of … she had a husband who she would go to hell and back for, who she loved to such an extent that it practically killed her every time she was away from him for more than 24 hours. And she had a daughter … she was finally a mother and that … that was everything. She had heard other women talking of how much they loved their children. But she never really understood … until now … until the first moment she held her own daughter in her arms. The sudden wave of love that washed over her, the urge to protect the child that she had carried for nine months overtook everything … every fiber of her being (again, sorry about the cliché), the connection between mother and child was so deep that no one who was without a child of their own could understand.

The pair looked down at their daughter, both, not surprisingly, still smiling to such an extent that Jack's cheeks were beginning to hurt, but he didn't care, he was ludicrously happy. His wife and daughter in his arms. Things didn't get any better than this … Life was … well there was only one way to describe it …

…Perfect.

TBC…


	2. Chapter 2

_AN: italic text represents memories._

Chapter 2

Again he kissed his wife on the head and drew her closer into his embrace. Jack was now sitting properly on the bed next to his wife, leaning against the headboard. Sam was leaning against her husband, looking slightly less disheveled but still just as exhausted. Even after all this time she still reveled in his touch, the fact that he was hers, that she could lie in his arms, without breaking any rules, without worrying what the base gossips would have to say. She was married now. Even if they wanted to, there was nothing anybody could do about it.

They had fought the regulations … and won. They had won. After eight years of trying to suppress their feelings, worrying about the rules. Having each other so close but still just far enough away that the other was unattainable … just out of reach. Those regulations had kept them apart for eight damn years! If they had known it would be so easy to get them to reconsider the regs they would have done it years ago … well 'easy' might be putting it … lightly. In fact 'easy' would be totally sugar coating the whole experience! But the point was that they had won! The regulations were changed; Jack was still in command at the SGC, Sam was a member of SG-1 alongside the old bunch, Daniel and Teal'c, and now the newly appointed Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell. Originally Sam was supposed to lead SG-1 but after finding out she was pregnant she suggested Cameron be brought in to the position of commanding officer, formally anyway. Sam and Cameron really shared the role of leadership when it came to the day to day interplanetary exploration front but when it came to paperwork, luckily for Sam, Cameron got the heavy end of the load.

Sam was smiling to herself as she unconsciously nuzzled closer into her husbands arms. She was remembering her first date with Jack …

_They had been having a picnic in one of the many parks at Colorado Springs, they had been there since 1200, it was now 1800 and Jack was lying back on the rug that they had spread onto the grass, Sam had her head resting on his chest. Jack was aimlessly playing with the hair at the back of her neck and she was tracing inconsequential patterns on his abdomen with her index finger. She closed her eyes and deeply inhaled his musky scent._

"_Hmmmm. This is nice." _

"_Hmmm," was all the reply she got, but she didn't mind. She merely lifted her head and kissed him. Jack was not taken by surprise; he didn't even open his eyes. He just kissed her back, deeply. It was intense; slow, sensual as he gently prised her mouth open with his and slipped his tongue inside her willing mouth. The slow movements of his tongue massaging against hers was all that was needed for her release a low, throaty moan against his mouth. Whoa! The things that man could do her! _

_They separated and looked into one another's eyes. Jack lifted his hand and brushed back the hair that had fallen around her brow, tucking it behind her ear he placed his hand against her face. "I love you, you know"_

_She smiled and down for a quick kiss. She pulled away after a second and looked back down into her lover's eyes, a smile playing at the edges of her mouth. "I know, and I love you too."_

_This time the hand that had moved from her cheek to the back of her head pulled her down for another intense kiss that, if she was standing, would have made her weak at the knees!_

_Goose bumps erupted over her body; she wasn't sure if it was because of the kiss or because of the fact that the temperature had been slowly dropping for the past half hour._

"_You cold?" Jack attentively asked the woman in his arms._

"_A little," Sam replied with a small shiver._

_Jack's left hand felt around on the ground next to him until he had located what he was looking for. He lifted his leather jacket and placed it over Sam. Without even opening her eyes, Sam simply buried her face further into Jack's neck and inhaled his scent, in which she was now fully encompassed; God he smelled good!_

"_Thank you," was her only reply as she felt her eyelids get heavier and began to drift into sleep. If it had been anyone else she was with, not that she could imagine being with anyone else, but if she was she would have forced herself to keep her eyes open and stay awake, but with Jack … she didn't care; she was one hundred percent comfortable with him and she felt so safe in his strong arms. Hell, if they were surrounded by a dozen Jaffa with nothing but a nine mil between them, and he held her like he was now she would have felt safe. God she loved that man._

Dr. Lam's voice brought her out of her memories as she flicked open her eyes; she hadn't even noticed that she had closed them. "Sorry General, but I'll have to kick you out now. My patient needs her rest; besides Sam should try and sleep while the baby is and now she's finally out …". The young doctor was looking into the crib at the end of Sam's bed, she readjusted the blanket covering the child and looked at the couple lying on the bed before her. Jack had made no attempt at getting up, so she merely gave him her best 'You better do what the hell you're told' look and said, "Don't force me to make that an order, General."

"Oh for cryin' out loud. I'm goin'," Jack responded, shifting so that Sam was now comfortably resting on her pillows rather than on his chest. Lam walked to the other side of the Infirmary to give the couple a moment alone. Now standing he leaned over and kissed his wife on the forehead. "I love you."

He walked to the end of the bed and looked down into the crib, a smile appearing on his lips as he did so. "Love you too bubba," he said, brushing a gentle finger over her cheek. He looked from his daughter back to his wife.

"I'll be back in a couple hours; bring Danny and T to see the newest member of SG-1," – he nodded toward the sleeping child; Sam couldn't help but smile at his comment. "Rest up. I'll be back soon." Again he approached his wife, then placed a gentle kiss on her lips, and once again tucked a few small pieces of hair behind her ear "I love you."

"I love you too. Now go. Before Carolyn beats you to death," his wife replied with a tired smile across her face.

Jack placed another kiss on her mouth and left the Infirmary. Sam's eyes followed him until he was totally out of sight. She smiled to herself and sighed. She had to admit, she was exhausted. She slid further down under the covers and rolled onto her side. Closing her eyes she resigned herself to her exhaustion, and drifted back to her memories of that afternoon in the park …

TBC…


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 

Sam could feel as the sweet sensation sleep slowly encompassed her body, her mind wandered back to where it had been only a few moments ago, the memory of lying in the park with Jack …

_Sam shivered and leaned closer into the chest of her lover, whose embrace around her body instinctively tightened at the movement._

"_Y'okay?" _

_Sam merely nodded against Jack's chest; she was better than okay, she fantastic! She was in the middle of the most beautiful park in Colorado Springs, lying in the arms of the man she loved. She opened her eyes, the sun was just beginning to set but it was already substantially darker than before. She turned her gaze toward the sky and noticed a large black cloud was hanging just above them and she had to admit that there was a distinctly stormy feel to the air around them, but she didn't care, she had no intention of moving any time soon, besides she had just woken up, from what she had decided was one of the best naps of her life, so her body would probably not allow it. Well… that's what she told herself anyway._

_However comfortable or happy she was in her present state, she was beginning to get a little cold, even with Jack's jacket over her, and she could feel tiny droplets of rain beginning to fall against her face._

"_We should probably go," Sam suggested to her partner. She received no reply._

"_Jack?"_

"_D'we have to?"_

"_It's starting to rain."_

"_Hmmmm," groaned the man whom she was still resting on._

"_Okay, in a minute, just let me wake up …". His voice trailed off. Sam knew very well that he was planning on going back to sleep._

"_Jack?" Again she received no reply. The droplets of rain landing on her face had become substantially bigger, so this time, rather than trying to use logic to sway a very illogical man she simply rolled off his chest. Supporting herself on her elbows she looked over at him. Damn he looked good. The pale blue shirt he was wearing was unbuttoned just so that Sam could see the beginnings of the silver hair that was sprinkled over his chest. His left hand was lifted behind his head, so the hem of the shirt was lifted about an inch above the waistband of his trousers and Sam could see just enough of his tanned and highly toned abdomen to drive her wild. She continued her gaze down his body to the jeans that hugged perfectly in all the right places, they weren't too tight, but just tight enough to give you a good idea of what his long, lean legs looked like underneath. Sam smiled to herself …_

_When he came to pick her up that morning, well it was closer to lunch time really, but when Sam had opened the door to the man now lying in front of her … well … it had taken all her self control not to jump him right there on her doorstep!_

_She grabbed her purse and keys after they had shared a quick kiss, well a short make-out session really. When they were out the house Sam turned to lock her front door, Jack had already started down the steps by the time she turned around, he was only a few steps in front of her but she had turned around to a perfect view of his ass! She took in a deep breath and walked down the steps after him she calmly placed an arm around the back of his waist. Jack's arm automatically moved up to around her shoulder. Sam allowed her hand to slip from his waist down to his butt. The pair stopped walking and Jack turned to look at the woman next him, a smile playing on his lips. He raised an eyebrow._

"_You know a guy could get used to this."_

"_Really? And what would 'this' be?" Sam had said a quizzical look on her face. She knew exactly what he was talking about. She lightly squeezed._

"_Being felt up in public by an incredibly hot 2IC." Jack smiled broadly and kissed Sam. She leaned into his chest with her free hand and kissed him back. She slipped her hand into his back pocket and squeezed his sumptuous butt again, smiling against his lips._

_At his lack of response Sam could tell that he had gone back to sleep. She shook her head and smiled to herself. She leaned over the form lying in front of her and gently blew across his ear; he flinched in his sleep and brushed his hand over where the woman had teasingly blown. However, he did not open his eyes or make any attempt at moving in any way. She repeated the action. No response. Sam sighed to herself and again leaned in to blow over Jack's ear, but before she got a chance his hands had shot up around her waist. He had rolled so that Sam was pinned below him. Sam had let out a squeak of surprise when he had rolled then promptly burst into fits of giggles under the man. Jack was wearing a huge grin on his face, looking quite proud of how he had managed to reverse their roles. At noticing just how much Sam was giggling he could not help but laugh himself._

_Once Sam had composed herself she looked up into the eyes of the man now pinning her to the ground; it was now raining steadily, but not heavily. She raised her hand to his cheek and pulled him into her; their lips met. Moments later a huge clap of thunder made the pair jump and separate just as the heavens opened and the rain went from a light shower to a pretty intense rainstorm._

"_Oh, for cryin' out loud!" Jack had moaned into Sam's neck. He braced his hands against the ground either side of Sam's waist and used his arms to push himself up. Once on his feet he put out a hand for Sam who automatically took it. He pulled her up and was about to kiss her once again when again thunder clapped just above them and the rain got substantially heavier._

_The pair looked at one another as they gradually got wetter and wetter; Sam laughed and began to gather their stuff from the grass. Jack was struck dumb … god she was beautiful, rain running down the side of her face, her hair totally soaked and her white top was gradually getting more see-through by the second and was now beginning to cling to her curves. All he could do was stand and watch her._

"_Are you gonna help me or just stand and watch?" Sam had to raise her voice against the sound of the persistent rain._

_Jack didn't bother to answer he just walked right up to her, took her in his arms and kissed her. He didn't care that they were getting totally soaked, or that they had acquired a little bit of an audience; a little old lady was averting her eyes (not very successfully) as she sheltered under her umbrella and made her way back to her car._

_Sam's hand had made its way up to the back of Jack's head and her fingers were now intertwined in his soft silver hair. It was raining to such an extent that when the couple separated and looked at each other they both had rainwater flowing over their faces. Jack lifted his hand and pushed the wet hair back from Sam's face. She smiled at him, one of her ice melting smiles, that made him weak at the, not so strong anyway, knees. He didn't smile back, he just looked into her eyes …_

"_I love you!"_

"_I love you too," Sam replied; at this a huge smile broke out across his face._

"_Let's go!" Jack said, tilting his head back in the direction that his truck was parked. He picked up their remaining stuff and took Sam by the hand._

Sam awoke to the sound of the klaxons echoing throughout the base:

"Incoming traveler!"

'Oh, what is it now?' Sam thought to herself as she rolled over onto her back, she pushed herself up with her hands, so that she was leaning against the headboard. She looked down to the end of her bed and could see, the now wide-awake, baby lying silently in her crib. Sam smiled at the sight of her daughter.

"Ah, Colonel you're awake. Perfect timing, someone will be getting hungry right about now." Carolyn Lam walked over to the crib at the end of Sam's bed, gently picked up the child and passed her to her mother. Sam couldn't help it; she smiled broadly at her baby and thought to herself … things don't get much better than this, right now life was …

… Perfect.

TBC…


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 

Sam was clasping a small paperback in her hands when she heard the sound of rapid footsteps coming from the corridor outside the Infirmary. She automatically knew who it was. Three distinct sets; after nine years you learn to know these details. One set was quick and almost shuffling, Daniel. Another strong, heavy and evenly paced, Teal'c, and the last set she knew implicitly, strong footsteps that had a somewhat lazy feel to them at the same time, hard to explain really, but she knew it was her husband.

Before they even arrived Sam placed the book down by her sides and pushed herself up into a comfortable sitting position. Again she looked over the baby, whose crib was now at the side of Sam's bed, and smiled at the sleeping child. She looked from her child to the door just as Jack entered the Infirmary, closely followed by Daniel and Teal'c.

"Sam!" Daniel practically shouted.

"Shh, shhh. She's sleeping," Sam said in a loud whisper pointing at the baby. Daniel practically pushed Jack to the ground and marched right over to Sam. He kissed her on the cheek and hugged her, when he pulled back he looked down at her and smiled at the woman, who he considered a sister after nearly a decade of friendship. He walked around to the other side of the bed and looked down at the sleeping baby.

"Oh, Sam. She's beautiful." He looked back at the baby's mother and smiled warmly.

Teal'c then walked over to Sam and hugged her also kissing her on the cheek. He walked around to accompany Daniel next to the crib.

"She is indeed a very handsome child, Colonel O'Neill," said the huge Jaffa with, what looked a lot like a large smile on his face. Sam looked from the Jaffa over to her husband, whom the two other men had pushed past, and smiled at the look on his face. A sort of 'so can I can kiss my wife now?' look. He sighed, rolling his eyes and smiled as he walked up to his wife, kissing her tenderly on the mouth as he took her face in his hand. No tongue, just a long tender kiss. The kiss of someone in love. When the pair separated after about a minute, Jack's hand remained on his wife's face he looked into her eyes, they were only inches apart.

"Hey," he said with a smile on his face.

"Hey," replied his wife with an equally large grin on her face. The couple continued to look into one another's eyes until Daniel, not so subtly, cleared his throat. Jack tucked a few stray hairs behind his wife's ear and looked up from her gaze to see Daniel looking at them, his eyebrows raised. He shook his head at the pair.

"Well Sam I have to say, she really is beautiful," Daniel told his 'sister'.

"It is indeed fortunate that the child takes after you Colonel," the ever-stoic Jaffa said to the woman sitting in front of him.

"Hey!" whined Jack, looking from his daughter to Teal'c with a mock-hurt look on his face. Teal'c merely raised an eyebrow.

Sam and Daniel both laughed at the remark while Jack frowned at his friend through narrowed eyes, at which point the baby woke up and promptly began to scream bloody murder.

"Well, she definitely sounds like Jack," Daniel commented over the screaming baby as Jack leaned over, hushing the child as he picked her up and cradled her in his arms. After a few moments of soothing and rocking, the baby calmed down and was gazing up at her father with huge, deep, brown eyes.

TBC…


	5. Chapter 5

_AN: This chapter is a little angsty compared to the others, but still a nice bit of S/J ship! Please read and Review,I love hearing your opinions and it spurs me on to keep going!_

Chapter 5

Jack couldn't help but smile at the baby in his arms, his daughter. He was a daddy. And that thought was more than enough for a huge smile to break out across his face. Not his patented smirk, or even his grin … but a real smile. A smile that, until a year and a half ago, came out very very rarely.

After a few moments Jack looked up to find three broad smiles staring at him; he hadn't noticed but the conversation around him had ceased moments after he picked up his daughter. "What?" he asked his friends.

"Nothing," replied Sam, who was honestly just happy to gaze at the sight before her, and the look of pure happiness on the face of her husband as he looked at their baby.

"It's just … she's barely a day old Jack and she's already got you wrapped around her little finger," Daniel responded as he crossed his arms over his body with a smirk.

Sam took in a slow breath "Yep, I think we're definitely looking at a daddy's girl." She was still grinning inanely at her husband as she spoke.

"Is there a problem with that?" Jack defiantly said, expanding his chest and straightening up, with raised brows.

"Not from where I'm standing." Again the couple got lost staring into each other's eyes, which was quite a regular occurrence these days.

After a moment Daniel, he of the 'perfect' timing interrupted, yet again. "What are you gonna call her?"

Sam tore her gaze from her husband's eyes, who, also unwillingly looked up from his wife to his best friend. He glanced back down to his wife, who gave a barely noticeable nod. They were doing that communicating without words thing that they were so good at. Jack smiled and looked back to his friend. "Alison Janet O'Neill."

Daniel smiled, but this time there was a slight hint of sadness to his features, he broke the eye contact to look down at the baby in his friend's arms. "She would like that …". His expression shifted from that of sadness to genuine happiness at the memory of their friend … their lost friend. The pain was no longer raw; after all it had been two years since her death, but it was still there … the pain of losing someone you love never really leaves, but with time … just becomes more bearable. Something the four adults in the room were all too familiar with.

The silence was broken by a small sniff coming from the bed; the three men glanced up to find Sam brushing tears from her face. When she noticed she was being watched, her face flushed slightly and she let out a small laugh. "God. I'm sorry. Hormones." She smiled at her baby and looked to her husband; she found a hint of sadness across his features but his mouth was still slightly turned up at the edges all the same, her eyes locked with his and she saw a whole array of emotions swimming behind the chocolate pools, which were usually so well guarded. Love, pride, joy, understanding, sadness and so much more.

That was all it took … a moment to look into his eyes. She swore if she looked hard enough she would be able to see right into his soul.

He took her hand in his and squeezed it lightly: silent reassurance. He was so good at that. He didn't need to say anything to make her feel better, just the knowledge that he was there, he didn't even have to touch her, just be near by. She recalled so many times over the years when he had silently comforted her, no words, he wasn't a man for words; actions. That's what he was good at. All it would take for Sam to feel better was for him to be in the same room as her, his presence, as much as she didn't want to admit it, he was able to comfort her a way in which no-one ever had before. He would stand there, silent, hands in his pockets. That's all it would take, but often he went above and beyond, he knew that sometimes it takes a little more than just that, and he knew exactly when it was needed. She often found herself in the clutches his strong arms. That made it all the better; to have him there was one thing, but to have him touch her, encompass her in his arms, fell the heat of his body so close to hers … she remembered how he had comforted her after Janet's death …

_She had gone to see him, to try and tell him … well at the time she really didn't know what she was going to try and tell him … that she still cared? That she was sorry? That the moment she saw him lying there … she really had no idea what she was going to tell him, but most of all she had to see him. She didn't know whether it was for his benefit or hers, she knew he was okay, she had been there when he'd woken up, as she always was, like he was for her. But since then, with Janet and Cassandra … she hadn't seen that he was really okay, that … she just had to see him._

_She had been standing outside his room for ten minutes before she worked up the nerve to actually knock. She knew it was stupid, but … she didn't know what else to do, she was all over the place. Well on the inside any way; on the out she was still being the good little soldier, strong as ever, not wavering for a second, emotions in check, nothing given away._

_She had started out lightly; "We heard you were up and around … bla bla bla," the usual things one said when talking to a person who had been injured. She was okay, calm, emotions in check; that was, until he mentioned Janet. That was when she felt the first threads of her control slipping away; she couldn't look him in the eye so she suddenly found her shoes very interesting._

_He took that as his queue to move on. "How's Cassie?" he asked as he moved from the bed over to the hooks where the jacket of his BDUs was hanging. Not that this was a safe subject given the circumstances, but it was better than dwelling on the fact that Janet was not there to nurse them back to health and that she had almost lost him … again._

"_She's a strong kid. She survives, you know?"_

"_Yeah. You speakin' at the memorial?"_

_All Sam could was nod; she didn't trust herself to speak, her control was slipping; she could feel the beginnings of tears sting in her eyes. The whole time he was standing in front of her all that kept reeling through her mind was the image of him taking that staff blast. The way he fell back onto the ground … and in that moment, for Sam, the world around her stopped. She couldn't hear the constant sound of guns and explosions, the people around her just seemed to disappear …_

_It was in that brief moment when their eyes met, as he looked up from putting on his jacket, that she knew … she knew she had to tell him …_

"_Sir, I just wanted to say …" - it was getting harder for her to hold back the tears - "when you were lying there, I …". Her voice began to quaver as it got harder for her to fight against the stinging in her eyes. She looked down from his face to the middle of his chest and took in a shaky breath. She glanced back to his eyes but only for a moment before she had to look away and continue fighting her losing battle against her tears. She looked back at his chest, all the words she had in her giant vocabulary suddenly left her, all the things she wanted to say to him …_

"_I'm really glad you're okay." She met his eyes only to find he looked down. For that second, when he looked away, her entire body was flooded with fear, she didn't know why, she didn't know were it came from but for that second she was terrified, until he looked back into her eyes. All she could do, to keep what little control she had left, was look away, look anywhere but his face. She only looked back at him as he took a step forward, closing the gap between them - he was looking at her the whole time. She knew it was only a couple of seconds but it seemed like an eternity before he said that one word that gave her all the comfort in the world. It didn't make everything okay, but it sure as hell helped._

"_C'mere."_

_And when he finally put his arms around her, the relief that flowed through her body was immeasurable. The feeling of his arms around her shoulders as he buried his face into her neck, she clasped her arms around his shoulders and held tightly in place, just to make sure he was real. That he was alive and that she hadn't lost him, she had come close, closer than she had liked but … he was there, he was real._

She met her husband's eyes again and he gave her a tiny, questioning nod. That silent communication again; she nodded back and smiled at him, telling him she was okay.

"It is in my opinion that Dr. Fraiser would be greatly honored that you have named your child after her."

Sam gave a slow nod in response to the Jaffa's comment, a smile covering her lips. "Yeah, I think she would."

"Alison? Alison, wasn't that …". Daniel's brow was furrowed as he looked over to Sam.

"Mom's name? Yeah, Jack chose it." She smiled at her husband who was lost in the face of their daughter; she was nestled in the crook of his arm and was sleeping soundly. She looked exactly like Sam, except when she opened her eyes. She had her father's eyes, deep pools of chocolate brown that seemed to go on forever. It was the only indication that under that cute Carter exterior … she was 100 O'Neill.

TBC…

_AN2: For those of you who are wondering, this story will get angstyer (ooh new word!) and i will develop to show how Jack and Sam 'Came to be' (as my beta would say) but i will keep going with the fluff and add a little more angst every now and then! Please Review! xox_


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: this chapter has not been beta read so any mistakes are mine! Enjoy!_

Chapter 6

Sam took in a deep breath and let it out as a wide yawn; she opened her eyes to the warm morning light that was filling the room.

"Mornin' sleepy head," came a drawling voice from just behind her head as a pair of very soft lips brushed against the exposed skin of her neck. The feeling of having a long, strong body pressed protectively against her back exuded a very satisfied, lazy noise, which sounded very much like a happy cat. She felt the fingers resting on her stomach flex a little. Turning in the arms wrapped protectively around her, to see the grinning face of her husband, a sleepy smile broke out across her face.

"Hello," she smiled as she lent in and tenderly kissed Jack's lips, "Mmm… how long have you been awake?" Sam closed her eyes again and nuzzled into her husband's neck, one of her all time favorite places.

"A while." Jack's hand was now slowly tracing back and forth, up and down her spine. Sam sighed again.

"How longs that?" she asked, slowly opening her eyes and looking at her husband, who, by the way, looked absolutely adorable first thing in the morning; his chocolate eyes still hazy with the last vestiges of sleep, a lazy smile gracing his soft features and the cutest of all was his gorgeous silver hair, which was all over the place. He looked so innocent like this, so totally endearing that Sam's heart melted and she fell in love with him a little more every time she woke up next to that.

"A while," Jack responded dipping his head to kiss his wife. God she's beautiful he thought. First thing in the morning, right after she'd woken up, this was when he thought Sam was her most beautiful; her hair mused and her eyes still a little heavy from sleep… they were their most blue in the morning… her make- up free skin really did glow (I know another cliché, but it was true) and that smile… That smile blew him away every time he saw it, he still couldn't believe that this woman had chosen him, loved him and so willingly given all of her self to him. He loved her more than she would ever know.

"Hhmmm…" Sam made another one of her happy cat noises against Jack's lips. Her hand came up to the back of his head, her fingers finding their way into his mused silver hair. Jack deepened the kiss, rolling so his weight gently pushed Sam into the mattress. A deep growl escaped his throat as his hand slid it's way up the side of Sam's body, working it's way underneath the lose tank top she wore to sleep in.

As quickly as this moment was becoming intensely heated, it was over; when a wail broke out through the baby monitor at the side of the bed. Sam let out a frustrated groan against her husband's mouth. Jack pulled back and looked into his wife's eye, he brushed back her hair with his hands that were framing her face.

"I swear that child has worse timing than Daniel."

Jack sniggered at his wife's comment. "You are spending too much time with me... I'll go." Dipping for one last kiss he slid out from under the covers and left his wife in their bed to go and see to their six-month-old daughter.

"I love you," she called to jack's back as he left the room.

"Yeah, yeah. Just cause I'm the one getting' outta bed."

Sam smiled to herself as she rolled onto her side, snuggled back into the covers and slipped back into a comfortable sleep. An hour and a half later she awoke…and something was missing. She was alone. In a bed in which, she should not have been alone. She emerged from the bedroom wearing the same tank top she had slept in but had pulled on pair of very long, gray sweat pants, which looked suspiciously like Jack's. She padded down the hallway, into the kitchen where she helped herself to a cup of coffee from the pot and continued on her quest to find her family. The house was oddly quiet considering it was home to a small baby and a man with energy that practically oozed out of his pores. Sam's brow furrowed as she headed further down the hall towards the living room, still clutching her coffee cup, she could hear no indication of where her husband and baby could be.

Her frown was instantly replaced by a huge smile as she entered the living room and saw the most beautiful thing in the world. Hell, in whole damn galaxy! Jack was lying on the couch; sound asleep, with baby Alison O'Neill, who was also in the land of nod, on his chest. Jack's left hand was up behind his head, and his right was lying protectively on his daughter's back.

Sam walked further into the room; she placed her cup down on the coffee table and took a seat on the edge closest to the sofa. She sighed as she took in the sight before her: the two things she loved the most, the things that she would willingly give her life for, the things that made her the happiest woman on the planet and made her life worth living. She rested her elbow upon her knee and placed her chin in her hand. Her eyes flowed over the tiny form of her daughter, up to her husband's face; his features were relaxed in sleep, his hair was still all over the place, this elicited a small laugh from Sam; he looked beautiful. Sam knew that he would have hated to be referred to as beautiful, but right now she didn't care…he was beautiful…in so many ways. Sam's heart swelled with pride as she thought about all the things that he had done. That a man so strong, and brilliant, and good, would love someone like her. Sure people told her how great she was all the time… but she never really believed them, she thought of her self as Sam… just Sam. Not a brilliant scientist or a talented soldier, but just a little girl who'd grown up to want the same things that, deep down all little girls wanted; to fall in love with her prince charming and live happily ever after… For all that Sam was a capable, independent woman who was an avid feminist and believed in equal rights for all etc. etc. in reality, when it came right down to it Sam was still that little girl, who's dream had finally come true… she'd gotten her happily ever after; with her prince charming and her beautiful baby girl.

It killed Sam to think how close she'd come to giving up on that dream… to just settling for what was…acceptable… not fighting for what it was that she really wanted…not fighting for her true happily ever after…not fighting for Jack.

She didn't like to think about the 'Pete fiasco,' as Jack had dually dubbed it; it made her feel guilty. She hadn't meant to hurt him and she knew that it should never have gone as far as it did, but…in a way she was thankful for it. She knew it sounded weird but it was what had lead her to realize just how much she truly loved Jack and that was what had lead to this perfect moment…sitting on the edge of_ their_ coffee table, in _their_ house, surrounded by all the things that made them who they are…watching her perfect baby sleep in the arms of her perfect husband.

TBC…

_A/N: at some point the rating of this stiry will go up and it should become more angsty. I have a couple of ideas but I just have to figure out how to write them in._

_P.S: sorry about the slow updates my computer is on the fritz!_


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Sam was never one to dwell on the past; it didn't achieve anything. Jack had taught her that, but he also taught her that every no and then it was good for a person to sit back and remember. A person needed to remember. Remember everything. Not just the good things but also some of the bad.

It was as Sam was sitting watching her family; that she thought about how much things had changed over the last ten years…how much her life had changed. She had done things, seen things that no one could ever imagine. Amazing things. She thought about how she had changed. As a friend. As an officer, she was a Lt. Colonel. A wife. A mother.

Jack was a Major General now, retired, but a Major General nonetheless, and he was a daddy again. A gift, that Sam was only too happy to give him. That man was built for fatherhood.

She thought about all the things that had gotten them to this point, right back to when she first set eyes upon the man now sleeping before her. The corner of her mouth curled up into a lop-sided grin as she remembered her first thought at seeing, the then, Colonel Jonathan 'Jack' O'Neill for the first time.

As Samantha Carter; Dr. of theoretical astrophysics and captain in the USAF, rounded the corner into a briefing room filled with your typical, male air force officers, her heart just about stopped as she laid eyes upon her new commanding officer. She had been expecting a regular, if not stereotypical (not that she would ever let anyone know that) middle-aged, little over-weight, possibly balding colonel. What she got, however, was…not what she had expected. What she got was 6ft. plus of sex. Finished off in dress blues, which by, the way, made the whole package all the more desirable.

'_Holy Hannah!' she thought. Was that man handsome! Nice broad shoulders, muscular, but lean, Sam was never into overly muscley guys. He was standing so she could take in his full height, and what she could see of his legs, from the other side of the conference table, she could tell they were very nice looking indeed. His light brown hair, she noticed, was just beginning to turn gray at his temples, that was okay she could handle gray; it was distinguished, on some even sexy. She could tell that this man would defiantly look very sexy gray._

_Sam was a woman, and also highly intelligent, so was capable of doing many things at once: as theses thoughts were running through her mind, her body was acting almost on autopilot after years of military training; stand to attention, crisp salute._

"_Captain Samantha Carter. Reporting, sir."_

_With that perfect salute, she looked into his eyes for the first time… and, God, those eyes …wow. For all her massive vocabulary, all she could think when she looked into those eyes was…wow._

_They seemed to go on forever, they were so guarded, but at the same time said so much…there was so much pain behind them…she had never in her life seen eyes like that…they were, strangely enough, they were…beautiful._

_Oh yeah Samantha. You're in trouble_

A small movement in front of her brought her back to the present. She moved from the edge of the coffee table to kneel on the floor in front of the couch. She was looking right at Jack's face; as he began to stir she brought her hand to his face and brushed the short silver hair at his forehead, a tiny, contented moan escaped his throat as he deeply inhaled and sleepily opened his chocolate eyes to meet directly with the sapphire ones of his wife.

"Enjoy your nap?"

Jack just nodded as he allowed his eyes to slip closed and the last dregs of sleep to escape him. Once again he took in a deep breath and opened his eyes to meet his wife's gaze.

"How long have you been sitting there?"

"A while," a soft smile graced Sam's features as she looked at the man she loved.

"How longs that?" Jack enquired, deliberately echoing their earlier conversation.

"A while." A lazy grin broke out across Jack's face at his wife's exact repetition of his words. Sam's smile grew as she continued to lovingly brush at the hair near her husband's forehead with the fingers of her right hand. She looked down his body to where their baby was lying, curled on her front, on his chest. "You two look beautiful together, you know."

Jack followed her gaze to the tiny sleeping form high up on his chest. He smiled once again.

"Ya think?"

"I know," Sam, replied looking up at Jack's face. Her hand had come to rest on the sofa, just against the top of Jack's head, her fingers softly toying with the, marginally, darker hair. "You're tired." It was a statement rather than a question but he still graced her with an answer.

"Well at my age, being woken up five times in the middle of the night is not conducive to a healthy sleep pattern."

"At your age?" Sam's eyebrows were perilously close to the top of her forehead. There was a hint of annoyance I her voice, but mostly just a mixture of amusement and familiarity, as they played their, oh so fun, game of 'Is Jack old?' O'Neill vs. O'Neill.

"Well… at any age, but, especially my age."

"Jack," Sam, sighed his name, shaking her head.

"Come on Carter. We both know that I'm -"

She cut him off before he had a chance to finish his sentence.

"You're not old!" Sam angrily stated. Well, as angrily as you can when you are having an age-old argument (pun not intended!) in whispers, as not to wake a sleeping baby who is merely inches away.

Jack knew she wasn't really angry with him by the smile he could see in her eyes.

"Well," he said in a mock, indignant tone, "If you had let me finish. What I was going to say was; we both know I'm not getting enough sleep, so I think we should remedy that by spending this whole weekend in bed."

Sam let out a tiny giggle and rolled her eyes; the man truly was adorable. He continued to grin at Sam as he pulled his hand out from under his head and let it join his right; on baby Alison's back, trying not to stir the child, he sat up, swinging, his legs over the end of the couch.

"What do you say we put the munchkin down," he tipped his chin toward the child in his arms "and then have some breakfast."

Sam stood with jack, stroking the soft light brown hair on her little girl's head.

"Sounds great."

TBC…


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Jack left the living room to go to the nursery, and Sam headed for the kitchen. She placed her now empty coffee cup in the sink and followed Jack into Alison's nursery; she entered just as Jack was straightened up from placing the baby into the crib. He remained there, hands on the edge of the wood, just looking at his little girl. Sam came up behind him, gently placing her hand upon his back. His eyes never left the sleeping baby as his arm came up around Sam's shoulders and brought her around to his front so she was standing in the space between his body and the crib. Jack's arms encircled her waist, as she leant back into his embrace, covering Jack's hands with her own. He placed a soft kiss at the base of her neck then set down his chin on her shoulder.

"What where you thinkin' about?"

"Huh? When?" Sam asked, still gazing at the sleeping form before herself and her husband.

"Before. In the living room; you looked as if you'd been there for a while"

"Oh. Nothing…well…everything actually," she took Jack's silence as a queue to elaborate. "We've been through so much and…I… I don't know, it's…it's nice to finally have something normal. Do normal things and…just be…"

"Happy?"

"Yeah." Sam turned in her husband's arms, so she was facing him. She splayed her hand over his strong chest, her finger caressing the soft cotton of his t-shirt. "Blissfully," she punctuated her words with chaste a kiss, "addictively," kiss "perfectly," kiss, "happy," Kiss.

This time, however, she continued the kiss, deepening it by tilting her head further up, allowing Jack better access to her mouth. Jack gently teased her mouth open with a gentle nip of her lower lip; she made a gentle mewing sound as she slipped her tongue between her husband's lips. He tasted of coffee and some other, un-nameable, thing, which Sam had come to know as simply Jack… she loved it. She leant further into his body, her hands coming up to intertwine in his soft silver hair, one of Jack's hands came to rest on the side of her face, while the other pressed firmly into the small of Sam's back. They broke apart, both a little breathless from the intensity of the kiss, and pressed their foreheads together. " I believe you promised me breakfast General?"

"That I did." Pressing his lips against his wife's one more time, the couple left their baby girl to sleep and headed toward the kitchen. Sam took a seat at the kitchen table as Jack handed her a fresh cup of coffee.

"So, what d'you wanna do today?"

Sam sipped her hot coffee and looked up at her husband as he began to busy himself, cracking eggs into a large bowl to make his 'world famous' omelets. After a few moments with no reply, Jack looked up to find his wife staring at him.

"What?"

Sam placed her cup down on the table, stood and walked over to her husband. She took the whisk and bowl from his hands. Jack looked confused, but put up no resistance. She then proceeded to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him. At fist Jack didn't respond; he was confused. But after a second or two he relaxed and kissed her back, his hands coming to rest on Sam's waist. After another few minutes Sam pulled back and looked into Jack's eyes.

"I love you,"

"I love you too…not that I mind, but…where's this come from?" he looked at his wife, he had that cute little crease in between his eyebrows that he got when he was confused.

"I don't know really…I was just thinking."

"Oh. Surprise." Sam gently tugged at a little of the hair at the nape of his neck.

"Ow!" Sam smiled at her husband; she kissed his again and felt him smile against her lips. Pulling back and looking into Jack's eyes Sam asked him,

"Do you remember our first date?"

"Official?"

"Yeah."

"So after we-" his wife cut him off.

"Yes Jack; after we did that," Sam rolled her eyes.

"Of course I remember it. It rained…a lot!"

"And the first time you took me to cabin?"

"Oh, that I remember…it took me eight years to get there… and it was a pretty huge turning point for us, if I recall." Jack tilted his chin towards his wife and wore a quizzical expression on his handsome features. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh I was just thinking about it the other day…well…the day Alison was born actually," a warm smile spread across Jack's face at the mention of his little girl. "And earlier, I was thinking about how we got here…we went through so much, we wasted so much time and…when we first got together I used to regret that it took us eight years to finally fight for what we wanted…"

Sam was lying awake, staring through the darkness at the ceiling…thinking, as usual. However, tonight she was thinking about things that she tried so hard not to think about…him…the General. She used to think of him as 'Jack' because she could never actually call him that, at least out loud. So liked to indulge in the simple pleasure of his name whenever she thought about him…which, if she was truly honest, was more often than she would care to admit. But now…now it was too dangerous to even think his name: she would slip up, she would…she didn't know, but she just knew that it was too dangerous to think of him as 'Jack', he was 'The General' or the classic 'Sir'. God, she hated this!

_Two weeks ago Sam's life had been right on track…well…to anyone who didn't know her maybe…she had a great job, which she loved, she had wonderful friends who would go to the end of the earth for her (considering they go **a lot **farther away than that on a daily basis maybe that was an understatement!) her family was happy and healthy (or so she thought) and she had a fiancé who adored her!_

_See…right on track! _

_Or… that's what she had convinced herself…and then…it all hit the fan!_

_In a spectacular fashion!_

_Pete bought a house…a god damned house! Without, I might add, so much as even consulting her! But okay, maybe she was over reacting a little…it was a nice house…pretty even, but…Oh My God! A house! What was he thinking? Okay, so at that point she had to admit she was in a little over her head._

_"The dog's gonna love it!"_

_Dog!_

_Okay, forget 'a little' she was **completely **out of her depth!_

_She wasn't ready to settle down. Marriage? Suburbia? Dogs? Nope! Definitely not ready to settle down…at least…not with Pete. _

_'Okay, stop it Sam!' she told herself 'you're engaged. You love your fiancé! You can do this!'_

'_Oh my God. Who am I kidding? I can't do this…this has gone far enough! Too far! I have to stop this before it gets any worse!' _

_So she broke it off with Pete…it was actually easier than she had expected…I mean it was still hard, but he seemed to take it pretty well, all things considered. _

_Next on her wonderful list of things that had gone drastically wrong in the past two weeks…_

_Jack was seeing someone…some stupid…perky, redhead! _

'_Oh stop it! What is wrong with you? He deserves this; he deserves to be happy, he deserves someone to love…' She kept telling herself that over and over…it didn't help. She still had a compulsive urge to hate that woman! Which, she knew, was stupid, but she couldn't help it. She had the one thing that Sam truly wanted, and the constant mantra she had buzzing through her mind just served to confirm the fact that Sam desperately wanted to be the one who Jack could love…and that just made things worse!_

_And last, and most painful, on her list was that her father was dead._

_The odd thing was that, even though it was painful, and she still needed to mourn him, she was…okay. I mean she wasn't 'okay'… but…she was doing pretty well considering._

_She actually felt lucky…strange as it may sound, but…she should have lost him years ago but the Tok'ra, well, Selmac had given her another chance with her father, and for that she would be forever grateful. The last few years she had been closer with her father than she had ever been while growing up, in some ways she regretted that fact, but it hadn't been easy for him…after Sam's mother was killed he had a hard time dealing with things: he was a hard Air Force General, who had suddenly become a grieving widower and had to raise two teenagers alone, and although Sam had blamed him for her mothers death for a while, she had forgiven him after a little time…her brother though, was another story. He had gone out of his way to make things difficult for their father. He was anti-military at the best of times, but after Alison Carter died…he became unbearable, and as he got older things between them just got worse. The final straw for him was when Sam joined the Air Force, at that point he became totally estranged from Sam and their father, no contact at all, he even moved to another state! But again, thanks to Selmac, over the last six years they had re-built their relationship and once again become the close family they where before the death of Sam's mother._

_Part of the reason why Sam felt the way she did was because of her mother's death…that was merciless…she had been ripped from their lives with no warning, but with her father…she got to say goodbye, it didn't make the fact that he was gone any easier to deal with, but it softened the blow. Adding that to the fact that she had people around her to comfort her… her mind wandered back to the moments before her father had died…_

_She remembered sitting in the observation room, looking down at her father as he spoke to some members of the Tok'ra who had come pay their last respects to a dying comrade…friend._

_She remembered when his strong arms had come around her shoulders, and she had taken his hand in hers…how good it had felt to have him there, to just…how good it was to have him comfort her._

_"Thank you."_

"_For what?"_

"_Being here for me."_

"_Always"_

_It was that one word…'always'… that one word that had her awake at…ugh…three-thirty in the morning. She released a resounding sigh in to the darkness of the room and threw back the covers, flipping her legs over the side of the bed she walked to the door._

_She opened it as quietly as possible, so not to stir the three other occupants of the small cabin. She crept down the hall, pausing outside one of the doors; it was slightly ajar. She hesitantly lifted her hand, placing against the smooth wood; she gently eased the door, silently opening it a little more._

_She did not enter the room, but stood in the doorway…watching…just watching the rise and fall of his chest as he inhaled and exhaled the cool air of the cabin. He seemed so at peace, the lines on his face relaxed in sleep, the seemingly constant furrow of his brow smoothed out. He also looked completely adorable; curled on his side, his head resting on his bent arm and his hair…his silver hair was a total mess, he could almost rival the bed head of mischievous little boy…and that was quite an achievement!_

_Sam took in a deep breath and tore her eyes away from the man sleeping before her, she dipped her head, squeezing her eyes closed before she glanced back up releasing the air from her lungs, before she moved back from the door and continued down the hall._

_Sam crept all the way through the cabin until she reached the living room; slipping on her sneakers she walked through the sliding door out into the crisp Minnesotan night. Although she was wearing only a small tank top and her pajama bottoms, she did not notice the chill of the air against her bare skin. She slid the door closed behind her, and continued out into the darkness taking a deep breath of the clean, cool air she tipped her head toward the sky. No matter how many planets, and how many skies she saw…she was still fascinated by the beauty of earth…of the stars above home. After a moment she sighed and walked out to the end of the small dock next to lake, she lowered her self down so she was sitting on the edge, her legs dangling above the water._

_Again she became absorbed in her own thoughts…this time not so much about the General but more about her father…she replayed memories of her childhood, and ten of the past six years over in her mind…it was only then that it truly dawned on her that he was gone…that…she was never going to see him again._

_She felt the sting of tears in her eyes but fought them back…she didn't know why; she had no-one to hide them from out here…in the middle of the night, but still she felt she had to be strong…she imagined what her father would have said:_

'_Come on airman! Buck up! Carters don't cry!' _

_She was so deep in thought, gazing into the now black water of the lake, that she didn't hear the door slide open. She didn't even register his presence until he startled her out of her thoughts as he lowered himself onto the dock next to her. _

"_What'chya doin' out here? It's cold."_

_She glanced down at her hands resting in her lap, before looking back out across the water._

"_Couldn't sleep."_

_A slow nod of his head was all the response she got as his gaze matched hers: looking out across the dark water of the lake. They sat there in silence for a few moments before she felt the need to speak._

"_It really is beautiful out here, sir. I can see why you like it so much." Her voice was quiet but sure and strong. He glanced up to her face,_

"_You should come out here in the daylight; it's even better when you can actually **see** the view." _

_A small laugh escaped her throat, he grinned back; loving that he could make her laugh even in the middle of the night. That was one thing that he could never get tired of; making her laugh, making her smile, making her happy…in his own little way…making her laugh was really all he could do…it was all he was allowed to do…and that killed him…but her smile, that smile she had, it seemed, just for him…that…that made his life a hell of a lot easier._

_Sam's smile faded until only the very corners of her mouth were marginally turned up, she took in deep breath of the cool air, and tipped her head once again up to the sky._

"_I like it at night: You can see the stars." She leant back, supporting herself with her hands behind her on the wood of the small jetty. Jack mimicked her position, also looking up at the deep blue of the Minnesotan night sky. "You should have brought your telescope, I bet some of the things you can see out here are beautiful."_

_Jack did not fail to notice the lack of 'sir' at the end of her sentence, for all that he may play dumb he was a highly intuitive man, intelligent beyond what most people gave him credit for. Okay, so he didn't understand the physics behind the wormhole theory, but… he was smarter than he let on._

"_I don't need a telescope to see what's beautiful." Jack was, Sam noticed, not looking at the sky when the words left his lips. She turned her head towards him, and met his eyes; they looked almost black in the darkness. She allowed her gaze to trail over his face, before it momentarily settled on his lips… only for a second or two before she met his eyes once again. He had not looked away from her face in the few moments she allowed herself to take in his handsome features. A shy smile crossed he face before she looked down to a non-descript point in the middle of his chest._

"_Lie back." Jack reclined all the way down, until he was flat on his back, looking straight up to the sky._

"_What?"_

"_Lie back; you'll get a better view."_

_Sam did as he asked, and once again, they were echoing one-another's positions._

"_Okay." Jack took in a deep breath and surveyed the sky laid out above him; he brought his arm up above him and pointed, with his index finger, a little to the right of where he was lying so his arm partially crossed over Sam's body. "Look, there's Orion." He tipped his head to the side to look at Sam. She was gazing up to where he was pointing. "Do you see it?"_

"_Yeah." She smiled as she tipped her head slightly towards him. Then back up to the constellation above them._

"_And…oh. There's Polaris."_

"_The north star."_

"_Yeah," he said with a grin, "and that is part of the Little Dipper, which is also part of Ursa Minor." The whole time he was speaking his finger was tracing the outlines of the constellations they were looking at._

"_Ursa Minor; Little Bear?"_

"_Yup. And if you look carefully you should be able to see the Big Dipper." He tipped his head, once again, to the side to see Sam's brow slightly furrowed._

"_Where? I don't see it." Her gaze was scanning the area to where his hand was pointing. He shifted his position, so that his right arm came down into the space between them, this brought them closer together, as he leant forward, towards her lifting his left arm into the air and traced the outline of the stars._

"_Look, right there." He glanced down just as a grin spread across Sam's face, this, in turn, made a small grin grace his own face._

"_Yeah, I see it."_

"_Now, if you even **more** carefully; you should see the Big Dipper, Ursa **Major** or Big Bear."_

The small grin on Sam's face grew to one of her mega-watt, melt your socks smiles, as she turned toward Jack, and noticed the huge grin on he was boasting. She turned onto her side, bending her arm and supporting her head in her hand. "You really love the stars, don't you?" 

"_Yeah. Always have." He glanced at Sam and then back up to the sky, "when I was a kid, I used to climb out my bedroom window, onto roof, and just…lie there…for hours just looking at the sky…"_

_Sam's smile had faded from the melt your socks, to a smaller but no less intense smile, that, if he was honest, still had the capacity to turn his brain and his socks to goo. It was so rare for him to share things about his past, that when he did, it made Sam feel all the more special, and like…well if she told the truth, she didn't really know what it made her feel, other than the fact that it felt pretty damn good. An extra piece of the puzzle that was Jack O'Neill._

_He glanced across at her; they were only a few inches apart at this point, and just looked into her eyes, there was so much going on in there…he smiled back on then tore his gaze away, back to the stars._

"_And then of course, my mom found out and all hell broke loose!"_

_Another small giggle escaped Sam's lips, and she turned her head again towards the stars. They just lay there, in companionable silence for…well neither of them had any idea how long they had been there, neither one of them felt the need to move until, a soft breeze caused goose bumps to break out across Sam's bare shoulders and arms, causing her to shiver, it wasn't until then that she realized how cold she actually was._

_Jack, feeling her shiver, turned towards her,_

"_Come on, it's cold, lets go inside." Jack stood, ignoring the loud cracks of his knees, offering Sam his hand he helped pull her up to stand, however, he did not release his hold, like she had expected, but lead her back towards the cabin, hand in hand. _

_Once inside Jack released Sam's hand as she sat down on the sofa, there was no way she could go back to bed now._

"_I'll make some coffee" Jack did not go straight to the kitchen, but walked to the opposite side of the room and put one of the lamps on, he also picked up a blanket. He handed it to Sam on his way to kitchen. "Here. Get warm."_

"_Thanks," Sam graced him with a warm smile, taking the blanket; she curled up on the couch, tucking her feet beneath her. While Jack was in the kitchen Sam just sat and took in her surroundings, of course, she had seen the living room before, on there arrival two days prior, but she hadn't really spent that much time in there; during the day they had been sitting on the dock fishing, and in the evenings they had stayed outside until well past dark, talking and eating masses of charred meat which Jack had cooked on the grill. So now she took the opportunity to just look around. It was nice, admittedly it didn't have a huge amount of stuff in it, considering that Jack never spent huge amounts of time here, but it still reflected the man that he was. On the walls were pictures of his son, various planes and air force memorabilia; the shelves were lined with books about fishing, astronomy and not surprisingly a Simpsons annual. At this Sam smiled to herself. _

"_What you smiling at?" Jack brought her out of her thoughts by entering the room holding two steaming mugs of coffee. He handed one to Sam._

"_Thanks." Jack sat down next to her; she was sitting in the middle of the two-seater sofa so they were closer than they usually would have been, as he sat back into the couch Sam was suddenly overwhelmed by just how handsome he really was. His hair still mused from sleep and the breeze outside, she had always loved his hair; how it changed over the years she had known him, gone from a light brown, to charcoal gray, and know it was nearly silver all over. His broad shoulders, clad in an old washed out USAF t-shirt, which hugged his firm torso and revealed his muscular arms-_

"_What?"_

_Sam was pulled back from her musings by his words, and suddenly realized that she had been staring at him, she instantly averted her eyes and found the cup of coffee nestled in her hands extremely interesting._

"_Nothing…sir" she wasn't sure whether she had added the 'sir' for his benefit or hers._

"_So," Jack took a sip of his coffee, "wanna tell me what you were doin' outside in the middle of the night?"_

"I told you; I couldn't sleep." She sipped her coffee, savoring the taste as the dark liquid slipped down her throat.

"_Yeah." He took another drink form his cup, "why?"_

_Sam leant forward and placed her cup down on the coffee table._

"_I don't know…I guess there a little too much going on my head right now." She sat back into the couch, shifting into a comfortable position causing there legs to brush together, both felt sparks fly down their nerve endings, but neither gave away the reaction to the other, after eight years they were seasoned at hiding it._

"_Well that's gotta be a record. Is it even possible to have **too** much goin' in that head?" a smile formed on Sam's lips at his comment, and he grinned back, 'Okay,' he thought 'progress; a smile. That's progress, right?' _

"_I don't know...it's just so much has happened recently…I mean, the war is over after, eight **years**, and with Pete and my dad…and…I'm **here**, and…I'm loving every **second**…but, I guess I…I feel…guilty," Sam could feel the tears welling up in her eyes, but she didn't bother to fight them, she knew there was no point…not with him…he would know anyway. "I feel guilty because my father just died and I shouldn't be **this **happy."_

Jack turned to look at Sam, his expression steely. "No. Don't you even think that…not for a second." A few errant tears escaped Sam's eyes and began to tumble down her cheeks. Jack moved off the sofa, placing his cup down on the table next to her and crouched down in front of her, ignoring the cracking of his knees. Sam was looking down at her hands in her lap, avoiding his eyes. He lifted hand, placing two fingers under her chin; he gently pushed her chin up to look at him. Another few tears ran down her face. Jack moved his hand to her cheek brushing away the tears with his thumb, his expression softened, and Sam leant into his hand. "You have nothing to feel guilty about. Sam you deserve to happy more than anyone." Suddenly she smiled, not a small one, oh no! One of the Carter patented super smiles, the ones that set Jack's nerve endings on fire and cause his brain to go to mush. "You never call me 'Sam.'" A small grin crossed Jack's features and he cocked his head sideways for a second. "CO's prerogative." And in that instant Sam's smile was gone and she looked back down to her lap. 

"Right…CO." Sam felt her eyes begin to sting once again and Jack's hand slipped from her cheek. They stayed there for a moment; it felt like a lifetime to both of them, before Sam spoke again. Her voice small; barely above a whisper.

"_I don't wanna do this anymore." She looked up and saw that he was avoiding her eyes. "I'm tired of fighting…and I don't want to do this anymore because…" her voice caught in her throat, "because…I love you."_

_Their eyes met and took about a half a microsecond before his lips were on hers. Her hands were in his hair, his hands were on either side of her face. Trying to get as much of each other a possible. When the need for air became too great the pair pulled apart and pressed their foreheads together, both taking deep, ragged breaths._

"_We can't."_

"_I know…doesn't mean I don't want to." _

_Sam pulled back just enough to look at his face, they just stared at each other for a moment, and Jack's hand came round and pushed some blonde hair behind her ear._

"_God, you're beautiful."_

_A shy smile, along with a faint blush swept across Sam's face, she looked down for a moment before meeting his eyes once again. Suddenly her smile was gone as a horrible thought passed through her mind…_

"_Wait…uh, what about…Kerry?"_

_Jack looked down for a moment and let out a whisper of a laugh;_

"_Right, uh…that didn't really work out; she, uh, she broke up with me."_

"Oh." Sam was suddenly filled with fear and dread. 'What if he's just doing this because she left him? Am I just the reserve, the fall back? Oh my god, am the rebound!'

"_She said I have issues," he looked up to in time to Sam cock an eyebrow, "but it was one particular issue she couldn't live with…"_

_Sam's curiosity peeked_

"_Which was?"_

_Jack looked up and met her eyes, his expression was impossible to gauge. Damn him! Why was he so good at hiding his emotions?_

_After a moment he spoke._

"_You."_

_Sam's eyebrows shot up and any façade of calm and collected that she had managed to sustain was out the window!_

"_What? Me?" Sam could feel her face begin to flush and willed it away, which of course only made it get worse! 'Damn my fair complexion!' her brow furrowed in confusion as she ran over anything she could have done to be considered an 'issue.'_

_Jack let out a small chuckle at her obvious confusion, on any other occasion he would have milked it for all that it was worth but, right now…he decided to put her out of her misery._

"_It's okay, you didn't do anything wrong." He watched as a visible wash of relief flowed over her, "she basically said…" he looked down at his hands, which were now resting on either side of Sam's knees on the couch, "that…she couldn't love me when…" he met her eyes "…I'm in love with you."_

_Sam took in an audible gasp. She had waited almost eight years to hear those words, and now she had…_

"_Really?" she wouldn't let herself celebrate just yet, the cautious part of her, the part that had been hurt before, and lost people that she loved, wouldn't let her; she had to be sure._

_He smiled and nodded,_

"_Yeah…"both of his hands came to the sides of her face, "…I love you Samantha Carter."_

TBC…


	9. Chapter 9

"When we first got together I used to regret that it took us so long to finally fight for what we wanted."

Jack looked down into the azure depths of his wife's eyes for a moment before speaking,

"And now?"

Sam looked up from the spot on his chest where she had been fiddling with his t-shirt. She took in a deep breath and smiled…not just a regular smile, it wasn't that Jack didn't love any kind of Carter smile, but this…this was a killer. Jack could practically feel his insides melt and his brain reduce to a pile of steaming goo…that was one hell of a smile!

"Now? Now I wouldn't change a second of it," she sounded so sure; her voice strong and powerful, laced with the joy that was coursing through her body.

It took Jack a moment to respond, after all, at this point he was pretty sure his brain was pooling at his feet in the kitchen floor.

"Really?" Sam nodded, still giving him an eye-full of that smile, "Not a second?" Sam shook her head, "Not even all those times we were so close to death that I would rather not think about it, or when the fate of the _entire_ universe rested solely on your shoulders?"

Sam shook her head, "And you know why?" It was Jack's turn to shake his head, "Because if we did _anything_ differently, we wouldn't have this…this perfect, amazing life we have _right_ now." Sam looked down to where her hands were splayed on his chest, for a moment before meeting his eyes once again, "So, no. I wouldn't change a second of our lives; because over the eight years that we danced around each other, we went through so much together, and got to know each other better than we ever could have under different circumstances." Jack was enthralled; his eyes were glued to Sam's. Even if he wanted to he wouldn't be able to look away. "I mean…we went through more than any body in this _planet_ ever _could_; that makes _us_ so much stronger. It makes me realise that…that we can survive anything."

Sam looked up and met Jacks eyes, and what she saw there…well, lets just say that it was a good thing Jack had his arms around her or her legs would have given out…the emotion in his eyes was so raw and powerful that…well, she could barely breathe.

Jack was dumb founded…he really had no idea what to say, at the best of times he wasn't the most articulate human being, but this…this was intense. So he did the only thing that felt right, he did what you are all expecting, he knew it was a cliché, but he didn't care.

He kissed her.

Sam felt her legs become weak as Jack's lips connected with her own, instinctively the arms around her waist tightened as the kiss became deeper and more intense. Jack could feel Sam's fingers raking up his biceps, the sensation causing goose bumps to break out over his exposed flesh. It was amazing what a single touch could do him. Sam sighed against his lips as her husband's hands began to work their way under her top; his touch was feather light against the skin of her back, so much so that it tickled her. She pulled away from his fingers; making the front of their bodies fully connect from chest, to hip, to knee. The sudden movement caused their lips to separate as Sam gasped.

"You know I'm ticklish there," the words were no more than a whisper against the skin of Jack's neck. He could feel the warmth of her breath on the underside of his jaw as Sam's brow rubbed against his unshaven face. Jack was so lost in the feeling of Sam against his body that he almost didn't register the words, he inhaled through his nose; taking in her intoxicating scent, a mixture of her shampoo, the perfume she had worn the day before and something else he could never quite identify.

"I know," Jack didn't really care at this point, however, because there was a large expanse of Sam skin in very close proximity, which, of course had to take precedence over the tickling issue. He lowered his head and set to work on exploring as much of said Sam skin with his mouth as possible. He really loved that she slept in those skimpy camisole tops. As soon as Jack's lips descended on her bare neck she gasped again, for an entirely different reason. God, he was good at that.

The feeling of his lips moving over her neck caused Sam to release a small moan. The moment he hit the sweet spot against her pulse point the moan became decidedly less soft and acquired a nice throaty texture, which in turn spurred Jack onwards, towards his goal. He began to back them up so that Sam was trapped between his hard body and the edge of the counter. Continuing his assault on her neck his hands began to make a course towards the waistband of the sweat pants she was wearing. Due to the fact that they were his, they hung low on her hips; he slipped his thumbs under the waistband at the back and slowly brought them round to caress the soft skin on her hips. Sam's hands, however, were not idle; they had worked their way around his front and were currently journeying under his t-shirt, across his stomach, continuing upward until they were forced to part so Sam could pull the piece of clothing over his head.

Divested of his shirt, Jack once again pushed Sam up against the counter, his hands going back to work at the waist of her pants; easing them down, they slid easily from her hips and pooled on the floor around her feet. Bracing her hands against the wood, Sam lifted herself up until she was perched on the edge of the work surface. She opened her legs and pulled Jack to her so her thighs were straddling his slim hips. Then his mouth was devouring her again, trying to take in as much of her as possible at any one moment, it was like he was everywhere at once. Sam felt his arms once again come around her waist and pull her body closer to his, if it was even feasible at this point; they were so close it was almost impossible to differentiate between the two. Jack brought his hands lower and lifted Sam from the surface, her legs automatically going around his waist, their lips still connected, Jack turned them around and began to move for the door while Sam continued to suck and nip and taste his mouth as her arms came around his shoulders. By this point all thoughts of breakfast…and pretty much anything else had been abandoned. It was always like this with theses two. They could become so totally focused on each other that, it sounds clichéd but… nothing else mattered. Nothing else existed.

One of Jack's hands had snaked it's way under the back of her shirt, the other was firmly planted around her hips holding her to him, not that she would try to go anywhere or anything, but still…

They made it as far as the hallway before Sam found her back being pressed into the wall and Jack's chest pushing against her own. Jack released her hip and she lowered her feet to the ground. The second they hit the floor his mouth was upon her again, this time, however it was not on her lips. He trailed his way along her jaw and as his lips clasped over her ear lobe Sam released a soft sigh against his temple. Jack continued his course gradually southwards down her neck, ensuring to pause at her pulse point. He had learned pretty quickly that focusing on this particular area for a while could cause Sam to make some rather enjoyable noises, there was the occasional moan of his name, however, they were often pretty incoherent. Not that that would put him off or anything.

"Jack…" Sam managed to get out at least one solid word before she felt Jack's hand begin to journey south along her jaw, down her neck, over her collar bone continuing downwards until he cupped her breast through the soft cotton of her shirt, causing her groan.

"Jack… are you…" Sam was having some trouble getting her words out as said hand began, again, to journey southwards over her flat stomach, pretty amazing actually considering she had just had a baby, I mean getting a _person _out of you is no small task. As Jack's fingers began to tease the edge of her underwear Sam once again tried to articulate her thoughts over her laboured breathing

"…are you…" moan "sure we sh- " moan. Jack felt an amazing amount of pride at the fact he could make Samantha Carter (O'Neill actually. God, he loved that!) inarticulate. He continued on, regardless, his hand was now totally inside his wife's underwear, as his fingers began to explore Sam's head fell forward against his shoulder and her hands gripped his arms a little tighter. Pretty soon her breathing was becoming steadily more ragged and one her hands had found it's way up into his hair and was gently tugging at the sort strands at his nape.

"Jack. Oh God." Sam ground herself harder against his hand as she felt the sensations build and begin to intensify. Pressing a kiss to her temple Jack increased the pace of his fingers and using his thumb to stroke over here clitoris; it was only seconds before Sam climaxed around his hand, releasing a cry against his neck. After a moment Sam kissed his neck and felt his hand withdraw and come around her shoulders, bringing her away from the wall and tighter against his chest.

"Bedroom?" She murmured against his skin. She felt Jack dip as he lifted easily from the floor, bringing her legs once again around his waist he carried her the rest of the way down the hall towards their bedroom. Sam's face was still pressed into his neck, her upper body slumped against his naked chest; she was pretty spent after their little interlude in the hallway. After recovering a bit Sam became aware that she could feel Jacks erection pressing against her stomach, motivation enough to give her the little energy boost she needed.

Entering the bedroom Jack kicked the door closed behind them, he walked towards the bed and laid them down, bracing himself above her he smiled down at her pleasure hazed expression, the lazy grin that spread across her face as she pulled his lips down onto hers in a slow sensual kiss. One of Jack's hands leisurely made it's way down her thigh to her knee where he gently urged Sam to bend her leg, pulling it high on his hip. Cradling him between her strong legs Sam rolled her hips just enough to brush against his shaft, which was trapped between their bodies. At the sudden sensation Jack's lips broke away from Sam's as he gasped. Catching him off guard Sam rolled them over so she was straddling his slim hips, she grinned down at him as he looked up at her with a shocked expression on his face. She once again lowered her lips to his own, pulling back she placed a trail of open mouthed kisses down his jaw, and along his neck; echoing the path he had taken with his own lips along her neck only minutes ago. Slowly working her way down his body, she paused and dipped her tongue into the delicious hollow of his throat, pulling a small moan from his lips. When it came to sex Jack O'Neill was never a particularly vocal person, hell in general Jack was never a particularly vocal person, but my God, the things this woman could do him. It was like she knew exactly where to touch him to extract the greatest responses. They were so in tune to each other's bodies, as is they had been created specifically for one another (I know, another cliché, please forgive.) Sam continued down his body, down his breastbone, pausing at his stomach, one her favourite parts of him. Those crunches really did pay off.

She dipped her tongue into his navel and felt his abdominal muscles tense, grinning she looked up and met his eyes and saw that he had been watching her the entire time, the look of desire written all over his face was so intense that Sam almost forgot what she was supposed to be doing. Placing a light kiss just above his belly button she tore her eyes away from his and got back to the task at hand. She continued as she had been before until she reached the waistband of his boxer shorts, lifting her hands from where they had been resting on his hips and slipped her fingers beneath it. She began to gently pull them down, her kempt fingernails lightly grazing his flesh. Jack lifted his hips slightly from the bed to aid her in the removal of his last piece of clothing. Once Sam had freed him of the cotton shorts she tossed them over her shoulder, not really caring where they landed, she let her appreciative gaze drift over his body, and it was quite a body. The man was in shape. She let her eyes rake over him until she looked up at her husband's face. God, she was _so_ in love with this man. He was so willing to give her his all, make himself totally accessible to her; at first they had both found it a little difficult to fully open up to each other, after so long of strictly guarding the emotional barriers they had built around themselves, it was odd not to have to hide things. But now, after over a year of successful and blissfully happy marriage, at moments like this there were absolutely no walls between them, his eyes conveyed everything he was feeling. Intense and overpowering desire, love, respect, you name it and it was in there. At moments like this… he took her breath away.

Leaning forward Sam braced her wait against the mattress and pressed her lips against his in a soft, gentle caress, she pulled back a moment later and brushed her fingers through the hair on his forehead and down the side of his cheek; her finger tips coming to play along the soft contours of his lips. A gentle hand came up and clasps Sam's own, Jack pursed his lips and laid a chaste kiss where her fingers rested on his mouth and then another on her palm. Pulling his arms around her pressed her against his chest and rolled them over so now he was cradled between her legs, while his weight held her down against the mattress.

Sam frowned up at him,

"But what about-" Jack cut her off with kiss.

"It doesn't matter." Jack's voice was soft and quiet in the room.

"I was gonna-" Again Jack stopped her mid-sentence by pressing his lips against hers. This time a little harder.

"It doesn't matter," Jack's voice still quiet but firmer, resting his weight on his forearms he brought his hands up to cup the side of her face again her brought his lips down to his wife's, but this time not to silence her words, just to enjoy the sweet taste of her lips against his own.

The next thing Sam knew Jack's hands were easing her shirt up her torso, his arms going behind her back to raise her up off the bed so he could get it up all the way and over her head. Tossing it behind him in the same careless manner which she had his boxer shorts, her lay back down on the bed and raked his hands down her rib cage and came around her front, gently needing her sensitised breasts. No one could stand that much foreplay and not have a tingly feeling all over their chest. Sam let out a low moan as a deft finger brushed across her nipple.

"Jack," Sam sighed his name after another few moments of his delicious torture, sensing the pleading note in her voice he met her eyes, then moved his hands down her body to remover her, now soaked, panties. Sliding the white cotton from her hips it joined their other discarded clothing somewhere on their bedroom floor. Moving back over her body Jack found himself, once again cradled between Sam's legs as she lifted one to wrap it around his waist, pulling her knee up over his hip. Bringing her arms around his shoulders Sam pulled his head down and nipped at his lower lip soothing the skin with her lips, she stroked her tongue across his lips; all the prompting Jack needed to willingly open his mouth to her, allowing her to slide her tongue over his and gently probe his mouth.

Then he was pushing himself deep inside of her, in one smooth motion they were fully joined, Sam swore her eye's rolled right back into her head as she gasped at the exquisite feeling of finally having him inside of her. Jack let out a horse moan against the skin of her shoulder. The two just revelled in the feeling of each other for a few moments before Jack lifted himself up and kissed Sam as he began to gently move his hips against her own. His thrusts were deep and even and Sam matched him every time. Sam let the sensations wash over her as she became totally lost in the man before her, the feelings of pleasure coursing through her as the two moved together in a slow rhythm. Sam trailed her hands over his muscular back as Jack's lips worked over her neck and shoulder, all the while their movements constant and steady. As the friction began to build Jack's thrusts slowly began to increase in pace, Sam pressed soft kisses against his shoulder and collarbone as he moved over her. Her breaths now coming in small pants as her pleasure began to increase with the quickened pace. Jack trailed his hand down Sam's side, along her thigh, hitching it a little higher on his hip causing his penetration to become that little bit deeper.

Sam moaned at the further pleasure of Jack slipping a little farther inside of her, rocking her hips against those of her husband Sam continued meet him thrust for thrust, now clenching her inner muscles against him. Causing him to groan against her shoulder. With every breath Sam was releasing small groans of pleasure, which were gradually becoming more and more incessant with every thrust, Sam pressed a small kiss against Jack's jaw as she began to feel the beginnings of her orgasm build low in her abdomen. She scraped her fingers across her husband's shoulder blades, pressing her fingers tips around the joint as the intensity of her pleasure began to increase more and more.

Jack was panting softly against her skin; one hand squeezed Sam's hip as the other supported him above her, by the sounds Sam was making Jack could tell she was getting close. Releasing her hip he supported his weight above her with both hands and further increased the pace, thrusting heavily inside of her. Sam arched her back from the mattress and ground her hips against her husband's thrusts, the sounds of her pleasure mingling with Jack's low moans and their heavy breathing as they moved against one another. Jack could feel his own pleasure building but held back just a little longer, knowing his wife was very close to climax.

As Sam got closer and closer to the edge her vocalisations became that little bit loader and soon she was teetering on the edge of orgasm, biting down on her lip and squeezing her eyes closed as Jack continued to thrust heavily into her.

"Ah…Jack! Oh God!" Sam clenched her muscles around his shaft, causing him to groan her name and falter slightly with his rhythm, giving away that he was just as close to the edge as Sam. With two or three more deep, powerful thrusts Sam broke around him, crying out at the intense pleasure spreading throughout her entire body. It was mere seconds after Sam's orgasm took over that Jack let go of his control and let his climax ravage his body, releasing a deep cry into the crook of his wife's shoulder as his muscles tensed and Sam felt his orgasm wash through her.

Sam's legs slipped from his hips as she felt him soften inside of her, she recovered first, still breathing heavily she brought her hands up to stroke through Jack's soft, short hair, his forehead was pressed against her shoulder, his breathing as laboured as hers as she turned her head and pressed a kiss against his temple.

"I love you."

She felt Jack's lips against her neck as he lifted his head, looking down at her he lowered his lips to hers in a slow, languid kiss, pulling back his forehead came to rest against hers. Jack spoke in a low, rough whisper.

"You know I love you."

After a short moment, when their breathing had returned to normal, Jack pressed another kiss against Sam's lips and pulled out of her, causing her to moan lightly. Rolling onto his back next to her Sam automatically curled into his side, resting her head against his chest as his arm came around her shoulder, pulling her tightly against him as he pressed a kiss against her hair line, releasing a contented sigh. Sam was just happy to lie for a while, listening to the steady thump of his heart beneath her ear, her fingers idly playing with the smattering of hair across his chest, while his stroked softly up and down her spine in a calming motion. After a moment Sam released a soft sigh and lightly kissed her husband's chest.

"I knew there was a reason I married you."

She felt check chuckle before he spoke and could hear the smile on his voice,

"Well. It's nice to know I'm appreciated," Sam turned, pushing herself up on to her elbow to look down at her husband, cupping his cheek and stroking his jaw with her thumb. Her gaze moved over his face, pausing on his mouth for a second, before she looked into his eyes, her voice was soft in the large room.

"More than you know." With the hand that was resting at the nape of her neck, Jack pulled her lips down onto his and kissed her, trying to convey just how much _he_ appreciated _her._ And… well, lets just say that it was working. He was a _very_ good kisser. Sam was pretty sure she was starting to turn to goo all over again, when, for the second time that day, they were interrupted by a wail from the baby monitor. Sam released a huff of laughter at Jack's moan, pulling back from his mouth she looked down at him and smiled, his hand stroked through her mused hair before her spoke.

"Well, at least she waited until _after_ this time," Laughing and shaking her head Sam pressed her lips against Jack's in a quick kiss.

"My turn?" Jack nodded up at his wife, kissing her again before she slipped from on top of him and out of the bed. She pulled on her cami top and Jack's discarded boxers, throwing another pair at his head where he lay, reclined on their bed.

"Put some clothes on," she chuckled as he pulled the shorts from his head and glared at her. Sam shook her head and gave him a coy grin.

"Oh, honey. That look stopped working on me years ago." Jack stopped glaring and shook his head, the corners of his mouth twitching in a slight smile, he threw the covers back and sat on the edge of the bed, pulling on his boxer shorts as Sam left the room.

When she came back, Jack was sitting up in bed, leaning against the headboard, fingers laced behind his head, eyes closed and a rather dreamy look across his face. It was that grin. That sinfully sexy cat-who-got-the-cream-and-then-caught-the-canary-and-got-a-free-tummy-rub-too grin. Damn that man.

"What are you smiling at?" Sam questioned her husband as she came further into the room with a now settled, and happily fascinated with sucking her thumb baby Alison. Jack opened his eyes at the sound of his wife's voice and his smile only grew wider. He threw the covers back and opened his arms in a gesture for her to join him on the bed. Sam happily did so, leaning against his chest as his arm came around her shoulder and he smiled down at his baby girl, softly stroking the tuft of light brown hair on the top of her head.

"Well?" Sam asked again after they had gotten themselves comfortable.

"Oh. Uh, I was just… thinking."

"Uh oh. Should I be worried?" Sam smiled up at her husband, who frowned down at her in mock offence.

"Have you always been this impertinent or is it a new thing?" Sam giggled up at him in reply, at which Jack nudged her shoulder.

"Hey! You know the rule." Sam stopped giggling immediately and her face became deadly serious.

"Of course. I'm sorry, sir, please continue." Jack glared at her again and the corners of her mouth twitched just the tiniest bit. Jack shook his head in defeat and continued where he had left off, before he was so rudely interrupted.

"I was thinking, that…we're a living cliché." Sam twisted her head to look at him, a frown forming across her features.

"What? How so?"

"Look at us! We live in suburban Colorado Springs, it's a Sunday morning and we just had some fairly spectacular sex. Now we're lying in bed with our little girl and we're probably gonna read the paper," Jack looked back down at his wife, "all that's missing is the picket fence. I hate to say it… but we're a cliché."

Sam thought about it for a moment, and looked up at her husband.

"We save the galaxy on a weekly basis, and we don't have a dog… Yet. But so what if we're a little clichéd, we were anything but for a solid eight years. And beside, picket fences are overrated. I like ours better."

Jack was silent for a moment, and just stared into his wife's eyes before speaking.

"We're gonna get a dog?"

Sam smiled; shaking her head she tilted her up and kissed her husband.

Yep, it doesn't get much better than this…they really are perfect.

Even if they are a cliché.

The End.


End file.
